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The second show from our recent trip to Istanbul. We meet a Dominican friar whose Christianity is inspired by the mystical tradition of Islam. And, an Eastern Orthodox bishop is creating what he calls a “dialogue of life” as a religious minority in this crucible of the ancient church.

Kindred Episodes

About the Image

Orthodox priests get ready for the Virgin Mary service at the ancient Sumela Monastery in the Black Sea coastal province of Trabzon in northeastern Turkey. On August 15, 2010, thousands of Orthodox pilgrims from Greece, Russia, and Georgia attended the Mass, which was led by Ecumenical Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, at Sumela Monastery for the first time since 1923.

Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

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It is a paradox yet true that the devout of different faiths can, without leaving their tradition at all, understand each other, because they love the same person. For example, a Catholic monk went to the east and met a Buddhist monk on the steps of a Buddhist temple. The Buddhist monk touched is hand to his chest, and the Catholic monk did the same, and they understood each other: God, who resides in me, greets God, who resides in you.

A wonderful report on a religiously complex area. Thank you for bringing so much of the complexity out by looking at the margins.

One small correction: the Ecumenical Patriarch is not the spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of Moscow is the spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. Unless you mean "spiritual" to mean something besides the official, liturgical, and administrative head of the church, each patriarchate has its own spiritual leader. The patriarchs are considered equals, not leaders one of another.